A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention relates to connectors for cables conducting electromagnetic waves generally and more specifically to connectors, plugs, and sockets for audiovisual and other electronic equipment having interchangeable components.
When using cables or wires to connect such things as sound amplification or video equipment, it is sometimes desirable to change the terminating plug or socket on one or both ends of a cable, or to change the type, color, or other feature of the shell which covers and protects the ends of the cable. Since it is usually desirable to solder or tightly crimp the ends of the conductors of a cable to the terminating plug or socket, and since the cover or shell is usually placed on the cable before such soldering or crimping, it is difficult to change either the terminator or the shell of a cable which has already been made up.
The Interchangeable Connector System overcomes the problem of a lack of interchangeability among terminating plugs and sockets and shells or covers by providing a system of interchangeable Terminators and Shells which can be mounted or changed after the soldering or crimping of the conductors of a cable to a Common Connector Body. The Shells and Terminators can be mounted or changed without having to remove the cable from the Common Connector Body, thus providing a very flexible and reusable system.